Supporting access to comprehensive services: A scoping review of national policies related to autism in mainland China

Abstract

The study was designed to review autism-associated policies, describe policy characteristics, and determine potential policy gaps compared with the recommendations set by the World Health Organization. Autism-associated policies in 15 government agencies and public institutions were thoroughly searched on ministry websites up to December 2022, where 81 of 2504 were retained. And 42 of the 81 policies were issued in 2021 and 2022. Twelve of the 15 included ministries were involved in policymaking, yet fewer than one third of the policy documents were jointly issued by multiple ministries, which are crucial for the effective implementation of autism-associated policies. Compared with the World Health Organization recommendations (the Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2030 and the Six Building Blocks of Health System), several areas showed a strong policy commitment, including leadership and governance, service delivery, and access to medicines and facility. Several potential gaps remained, including a relative lack of emphasis on health information and the health workforce, and insufficient attention to the community. Despite these potential gaps, encouragingly, the nation has increasingly focused on autism groups. This study can provide a basis for future policymaking to provide more comprehensive and better services for individuals with autism.

Lay abstract

Policies have been found to play a crucial role in supporting the health and well-being of individuals with autism. Yet, relatively few policy reviews are related to autism, and the current level of autism-associated policies and potential gaps in comparison with the World Health Organization recommendations remain unclear. Our study reviewed autism-associated policies, described policy characteristics, and determined potential policy gaps in mainland China. We conducted a comprehensive search of autism-associated policies from 15 websites of government agencies and public institutions up to December 2022, where 81 of 2504 were retained. We found that 42 of the 81 policies were issued in 2021 and 2022. Twelve of the 15 included ministries were involved in policymaking and fewer than one third of the policy documents were issued by two or more ministries. With respect to recommendations proposed by the World Health Organization (the Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2030 and the Six Building Blocks of Health System), several areas received extensive national attention, including leadership and governance, service delivery, and access to medicines and facility, while there was limited policy attention on the other components. Despite these potential gaps, encouragingly, the nation has increasingly focused on autism groups. This study can provide a basis for future policymaking to provide more comprehensive and better services for individuals with autism.

Keywords

autism-associated policies China scoping review

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